The Soldiers’ Ghosts

As my recent article about Glamis Castle reached a very large number of readers, I thought it might be fun to travel west a few miles, across some of the most spectacular and dramatic country in Scotland.

The scene... Mountains, ravines, wooded slopes and tumbling, churning rivers which have carved their way through the rocks since time began.

The time... It is 1689 and a ferocious battle has erupted in the peace of this unspoilt country.

The place... The wild pass of Killicrankie in Perthshire.

The battle... This was a savage action between approximately 3500 Government troops and about 2500 Highlanders who were loyal to their deposed King      James VII. These Highlanders were the Jacobites, Jacobus being the latin for James. The Jacobites held the high ground, and the truly awe-inspiring sight of hordes of Highlanders swarming down the hill in an avalanche of colour and blood-curdling sounds immediately put the Government troops to flight. The Highlanders then went to work with sword and knife. Indeed, such was the terror they inspired that one Government soldier, totally overcome with fear, jumped 18 feet over the banks of the river Garry and thus escaped. This place is now immortalised with the name “Soldiers Leap”. But when the sun started to sink, the Jacobites had claimed a stunning victory with the dead and dying littering the once-tranquil pass.

The ghosts... In about two weeks on July 27th, on the anniversary of the battle, a red glowing light might gently bathe the area in what feels like a sorrowful tribute to the horrors still embedded in the rocks and trees. This has been noted before and it is as if the blood of violent death, having a memory, is re-visiting.

And often at dusk, the spirits of troops marching through the pass have been seen, suddenly appearing, only to disappear moments later. It is as if a time slip has occurred for those lucky (?) enough to be there at that precise moment.

And there have been heard shots and volleys of musket fire with momentary glimpses of dead soldiers sprawled in the agonies of death.

Finally... this is a wonderful place to visit where a real connection to the past can be felt.

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In Association with the Western Gazette 

You can also read this short story at the Western Gazette website. Click here to follow me and be the first to know when I publish my next article, short story or book review.
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